Process of treating waste organic substances



A. MACLACHLAN. PROCESS 0F TREATING WASTE ORGANIC SUBSTANCES.

APPLICATION man JUNE 6. I9I9.

, 359,086 Patented Nov. 16, 1920.

72 INVEZ/T/iibr ATTORNEY ANGUS MACLACHLAN, OF PERTH AMBOY, NEW JERSEX.

PROCESS OF TREATING WASTE ORGANIC SUBSTANCES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 16, 1920.

Application filed June 6, 1919. Serial No. 302,243.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Axons hlAULACIILAN, a citizen of the United States residing at Perth Amboy, New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful lni 'n-oi'euicnts in Processes of Treating \Vastc ()r ranic Slllr stances, of which the following; is a clear, full, and exact description.

My invention relates to a process of trcatiu; waste organic matter such as sludge, sewage, gala e and the likc and among the object. ol the invention are the more effectual and economic separation of the grease from the solid ronstitucul -2 of :W h waste organic matter; the rousrlun'iu, gieoi'cry of a much larger portion ol' lll. grease than has been hcrutoionpw ililn.

and the production of grew-4c in which the fatty acids are set.

This application is a continuation oi my application, erial No. QU LHH lilw': Nov. 23L l-llH as In common \ulrlwtauatter.

one of lbc :ltlYlllllLilt'jt's of in improved method of sludge treatment resides in the fact that very few. if any. changes need to be made in the devices \i'liirli are at pro out used for this purpose. The presentmode of trcati'neut usually consists in a preliminaur cooking or digesting of tin- "aste organic substances to be rei'luccd, fol lowed by pressing and drying of said sub stances. Prior to the drying process, however, on account of the fact that so large a quantity of grease remains, the resulting cake after being pressed. 15' usually degreased by treatment with naphtha or similar substances.

By my improved process, the residue dries out with great readiness forming a flnilv mass practically free from grease and odorless.

An important feature of my invention is the treatment of waste organic matter with sulfur dioxid. which is mixed with steam and passed through the. matter to be treated. Another important feature of my invention consists in the treatment of the waste organic-matter with sulfur dioxid m'ixed with slean'i and after treatment the subjecting of the matter to further treatment with dry sulfur dioxid. tber ob,- jects and important features of the invention will appear from the following de scription and claims when taken in canne tion with the accompam 'ing drawings which show the apparatus for carrying out my process in a more or less diagrammatic manner.

in said drawin s. Figure 1 is an end elevation of the cylinder in which sulfur is burned to form the S0 Fig. 2 shows the complete apparatus more or less diagrammatically;

Fig. 3 shows a conventional drier; and

Fig. 4 a conventional press.

Referring to the drawings, 2 indicates a tank which may be of any suitable construction. but preferably I use a tank of substantially erlimlrical form. and in fact such tank may be that which is usually mid for cooking or digesting waste oruanic substances. These substances may be introdutcd al the top of the tank through an opening 4.

When the tank has been sufliciently charged nith the waste organic matter to be treateth I introduce therein hot sulfurills acid. which intimately mixe with the iaulc contents. This sulfurous acid may be introduced under pressure or it may be drawn through the matter by creating a partial vacuum by means of a fan shown at G which fan may be driven by a motor 8. in processes used as at present, the matter to be lrcalcd is usually subjected to a digestiue or cooking process, after which it is drawn oil and pressed. the grease being removed by further treatment, either by naphtha or otherwise, which is quite expensive and which furthermore does not result in a product which is sat sfactory, the product containing in its final stage considerable grea e and also fatty acids which are objectionable.

\Vith my new method of treatment, the preliminary cooking or digesting may be done in the usual manner and the same apparatus used for this purpose may be used in carrying out my process\ either unaltered or with slie'lit changes. All that is necessary is to supply an extra pipe in some cases for the introduction of the sulfurous acid. or the same pipe which supplies the st am for the cooking; process mav he d scon eeted from the steam supply an Couueeted to the sul furous acid sunplv. My pro'w's differs f"om p o 'esses t l)ll""(ll' in us" n tlr t the material after be nrr di' es d s subicctel to the action of sul uro us acid. this be n'r suoplied in a articu ar ma ner. naxnc r. bv asp rati ifl hr m ns f' s eam. ln (HITlV out the process in detail, it is customary to draw ofi the excess water after the digesting process and also to draw off any grease which has a umulated at the top of the digester, and then the treatment with the sulfurous acid is commenced and continued until the matter has been properly reduced, this treatment varyin from 25 minutes to erhaps an hour, do .u in upon the size of t e digester e size of the pipe admitting the sulfurous acid. After suflicient treatment and after drainin off any excess water through the bottom he tank, the more solid pore tank contents ma be drawn ofi' "through a valve 10 and introc need either directly into a drier 12 or it may be subjected to a preliminary pressing rim to being introduced into the drier. rovision ma be made for testing the gases emanating rom the tank 2, and when S0 is present in considerable uaptities, it is indicative of the fact thatt e" process has been completed.

During the action of the S0 andsteam, the materials are so changed that the-grease is released and is readily extracted so that the grease content in the completed product is 1 or 2% only.

In some cases it may be desirable to subject the matter to pressing prior to its introduction into the drier, but if dry S0,, is used in the drier, this preliminar pressing may in some cases be omitted, although the time consumed in drying is in such cases somewhatEng rprefer, however, to subject the tank contents, especially in the treatment of sludge, to the preliminary pressing.

In the drawings I have shown a cylinder 1,6 which is supported at its two'ends by rooved rollers 18 and also at its lowest point. Connected with the axis 20 of these lower rollers is a gear member 22 which is connected to a motor 24 whereby the cylinder 16 is caused to slowly rotate. Crude sulfur is introduced into the cylinder and ignited, air being supplied abundantly through the opening 26. The end of the cylinder op posite the opening 26 has a reduced portion 28 which projects into a larger opening 30, in a cham er 32 into which the gases'enter on their way to the tank 2. On account of the fact that the portion 28 is smaller than the opening 30, air freely enters the chamber 32 so that the sulfur is completely oxidized within the chamber 32. Said chamber is in the form of a T having an upper opening 34 into which fits the lower portion of the T member 36. A steam pipe 38 passes into the member 36, and in the particular form shown, terminates near the point 40 in the cohveyer pipe 42, which conveyor pipe is slightly reduced in diameter at the portion 40. When steam is admitted into pipe 38, the S0 gas ,generated in the chambers 16 and 3 2 is aspirated into the gas eouveybr 42, and if the pressure is great enough. the mixturegs forced into the tank 2 and tbrougli "ture of gases.

the contents thereof. However, the pressure of steam need not be suflicient to produce a permeation of the tank contents by the mix- The fan 6 may be used to create a partial vacuum within the tank 2, thereby drawing or creating a flow of the gases through the mixture.

After the treatment of the material within the tank contents is completed as already pointed out, the contents may be pressed to remove an excess grease and water and then introduce into the drier 12, or it may be introduced directly into the drier 12. In order to facilitate the drying, especially when there has been no preliminary pressing stage in the operation, I introduce dry S 2 into the drier by means of a pipe 44. the drier being otherwise ofthe conventional kind having a jacket 44 which is preferably heated by steam introduced through the pipe 48. Water of condensation may escape through the pipe 50. A rotary stirrer or mixer 52 may be provided.

In the particularapparatus for digesting, the steam is shown as being admitted to the SO conveyer at a point outside of the digester. This of course is one form which the apparatus may take, but it is evident that the steam may be introduced within the digester, and in fact at a point comparatively close to the end of the conduit conveying the SO, gas.

The preliminary cooking by steam or other means may be dispensed with in some cases, although if done, the time required in the subsequent treatment with the SO, and steam would be somewhat longer. In the treatment of garbage, however, it is preferable that there be no preliminary cooking, the S0 and steam being introduced directly into the green garbage.

It is to be particularly noted that by my process, the resulting product is a fiufiy mass substantially free from grease and water, and what is of great importance free from any objectionable odor as well.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The process of treating waste organic matter containing a substantial quantity of fatty material, which consists in passing S0,, and steam through said matter for a sufficient time and in sufficient quantity to cause a separation of the fat.

2. The process of treating waste organic matter containing a substantial quantity of fatty material, which consists lIl passing SO, and steam through said matter for a sutlicient time and in sufficient quantity to cause a separation of the fat, drawing ofi the matter after treatment! and subjecting it. to a further trea cut with dry S0,.

3. The proeesso treating waste organic matter containing substantial quantity of fatty material, which'consists in passing S0 and steam through said material for asuflicient time and in suificient quantity to cause a separation of-the fat, drawing off the matter after treatment and pressing the same to remove the grease.

4. The process of treating Waste organic matter containing a substantial quantity of fatty material, which consists in passing S0 and steam through said material for a sufficient time and in sufficient quantity to cause a separation of the fat, pressing the matter after treatment, and subjecting it to a further treatment with S0 5. The process of treating waste organic matter containing a substantial quantity of fatty material, which consists in passing S0 and steam through said matter for a sufficient time and in sufficient quantity to cause a separation of fat, pressing the matter after treatment to remove the grease, and further subjecting it to a drying process.

6. The process of treating waste organic matter containing a substantial quantity of fatty material, which consists in passing S0 and steam through the matter for a sufficient time and in suflicient quantity to cause a separation of the fat, pressing the matter after treatment to remove the grease, subjecting the latter to a drying process and treating it with dry SO during the drying stage of the process.

7. The process of treating waste organic matter containing a substantial quantity of fatty material, which consists in passing hot SO through said matter in the presence of considerable water for a sufficient time and in sufficient quantity to cause a separation of the fat.

8. The process of treating waste organic matter containing a substantial quantity of fatty material, which consists in sub'ecting the waste matter to a preliminary oiling in the presence of considerable Water, and passing hot SO through the boiling mass for a sufficient time and in sufficient quantity to cause a separation of the fat.

9. The process of treating waste organic matter containing a substantial quantity of fatty material, which consists in passing hot SO through said matter in the presence of considerable water for a sufficient time and in sufficient quantity to cause a separation of the fat, and subsequently pressing the matter while hot to extract the grease.

10. he process of treating waste organic matter containing a substantial quantity of fatty material, which consists in subjecting the matter to a preliminary boiling in the presence of considerable water, passing hot S0 and steam through said matter for a sufiicient time and in sufficient quantity to cause a separation of the fat, drawing off the water, drawing off the tank contents, and subjecting the same to pressure while hot to removeathe oil, and afterward subjecting the matter to a dryin process.

Signed at New York city, Y., this 5th day of June, 1919.

ANGUS MACLACHLAN. 

